OXNARD, Calif. – Football season has finally arrived.
Cowboys players filed off the buses that reached the team hotel Friday evening in Oxnard, Calif., and Jason Witten and Brandon Carr stopped briefly to express their excitement and discuss their feelings on the upcoming season.
"We had enough time off to kind of regroup and get our minds right for this long season," Carr said. "We put in a lot of work in OTAs and the offseason, and now it's time to pick back up where we left off."
Carr gave his thoughts on the gorgeous weather in California and how that can be a positive. But beyond the comfort physically, Carr also appreciates the time training camp on the West Coast allows players to bond away from home.
"Everybody is just sticking together," he said. "We know what happened last year, and at the end of the day, we're still in the fight in the last game. There were a couple of plays we wish we could have back, but now we get to have a fresh start and guys have their minds right and hopefully this will be the year we turn the corner."
Unlike Carr, who's only spent one season with the Cowboys, Witten is preparing for his 11th season in Dallas and still searching for his second playoff win.
"A lot of guys in that locker room there that have been through a lot together and those experiences have formed some close bonds and hopefully you can come out on the other end of it through some of the adversity we've been through," Witten said. "I think all of us understand what we need to do and now our focus is on, 'It's here and let's go do it the next five, six months.'" [embedded_ad]
Witten said the answer to turning things around is simply executing better after another 8-8 season. He also realizes that fans don't want to hear the same message again without seeing noticeable changes on the field.
"There's nothing to say when you finish the last two years 8-8 and not been able to get over the hump. It fires you up," he said. "Every day you wake up wanting to be a part of that group that gets over the hump. We're excited and going to do everything we can to make it a season we're all proud of."
